Italian Artist adds Tattoos to Classic Marble Sculptures

Italian artist Fabio Viale has forever changed my perspective on iconic marble sculptures. Fabio has taken these iconic figures from a  classical art form and added ornamentation that is popular in our culture today. Tattoos. What I admire more than anything about his work is the realism of the tattoos. Instead of painting the marble, he worked with chemists to create a technique to infuse the ink to the marble in a manner that would resemble tattoos on the human body. How cool is that.

Also in a time of seriousness and uncertainty, this art is very refreshing. Sculptures such as  Laocoön can be thought of as “classically” beautiful and off-limits from scrutinization. But Fabio’s interpretation has brought new life into these classical beauties and has added a sense of wonder and amazement. It makes me think, what if these characters were alive today, how would we immortalize them? Only with time are things consider classic. Check out his work below or read his interview with Design Boom.